1 LOCATION AND SIZE

Mali, a landlocked nation, is located in western Africa and is crossed
by the Niger River. The country's terrain is mostly flat, arid,
and sandy. With an area of 1,240,000 square kilometers (478,767 square
miles), Mali is almost twice as large as the state of Texas. Mali is
divided into eight administrative regions.

2 TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES

Mali has no territories or dependencies.

3 CLIMATE

Temperatures range by season and region. In Bamako in the southwest,
temperatures in June through September average 20°C (68°F). In
the hot, dry season from February to May, temperatures average 35°C
(95°F). In the Sahelian region, the average annual temperature is
30°C (86°F). The rainy season is from June to September,
although this really only applies to the south: the northern regions
rarely receive any rainfall. Average annual rainfall in the south is
approximately 140 centimeters (55 inches); in the north, rainfall
averages only 20 centimeters (8 inches). Precipitation varies
considerably from year to year, however. It is not uncommon for less
than 8 centimeters (3 inches) of rain to fall annually in the far
northern Sahara Desert area.

4 TOPOGRAPHIC REGIONS

Mali can be roughly divided into three geographic regions: the southern
region, where rainfall is the heaviest; the Sahel, the semi-desert
region in the center of the country; and the Sahara Desert region of the
far north.

The Sénégal River flows through the western section of the
county. The Niger, one of Africa's major rivers, forms a
semicircle in the south-central region, separating the semi-arid Sahel
from the highlands. Oases dot the desert region of the north; these
wateringholes
were stopovers for caravans that traveled the Sahara Desert in ancient
times. Most of the population lives in the southern region, in the
cities and towns along the Niger, Baoulé, and Bani Rivers.

5 OCEANS AND SEAS

Mali is a landlocked nation.

6 INLAND LAKES

The only two perennial lakes of any real size are located in the center
of the country on either side of the Niger River. To the east of the
river sits Lake Niangay, and northwest of this lake is the larger Lake
Faguibine. Lake Faguibine is the largest lake in Mali, with a
rainy-season surface area of 590 square kilometers (228 square miles).
After the September-through-December rainy season, the delta region of
the Niger—about 30,000 square kilometers (19,000 square miles) in
total area—is flooded. Grasslands become green, and the seasonal
lakes—Debo, Fati, Teli, Korientze,
Tanda, Niangay, Do, Garou, Aougoundou, and others—are filled
with water.

7 RIVERS AND WATERFALLS

Two main rivers cut through Mali: the Niger and the Sénégal.
The Niger River traverses Mali for 1,700 kilometers (1,060 miles),
nearly one-third of its total length of 4,185 kilometers (2,600 miles).
Beyond the town of Ségou, the Niger forms a vast inland delta and
then joins with its main tributary, the Bani, at Mopti. Beyond Mopti the
Niger breaks up into two channels, the Bara Issa and the Issa Ber, that
spread out in a broad flood plain covering 103,600 square kilometers
(40,000 square miles) before rejoining just above Diré, between
Lakes Niangay and Fagubine.

In western Mali, the Sénégal River is formed at the small town
of Bafoulabé through the confluence of the Bafing and Bakoye
Rivers. The Falémé River lies along the border with Senegal.
It joins other tributaries to become the Sénégal. The Gorgol
River, which originates in Mauritania, joins it about 200 kilometers
(125 miles) downstream.

8 DESERTS

The Niger River Valley forms the southernmost extent of the Sahara
Desert. Northern Mali lies completely within the Sahara Desert. The Erg
Chech, which straddles Mali and Algeria in the extreme north, is
characterized by ergs—deep, shifting parallel dunes in the sand.
This region also contains two vast plains known as the Tanezrouft, whose
reddish sandstone formations lead to the Ahaggar Mountains of Algeria,
and Taoudenni, where salt has been mined for centuries. In the oases
(low-lying places where water allows some vegetation to grow) of the
Sahara, small stands of trees may be found.

9 FLAT AND ROLLING TERRAIN

The central part of Mali, lying between Mauritania and Niger, is the
semi-arid Sahel, the name for the region between the Sahara Desert and
the forests closer to the Atlantic coast. Historically, the Sahel was
dedicated to grazing, but years of drought have caused much of the
central area to begin the transition to desert. In the upper southern
region, the Niger and Bani Rivers join to form a rich inland delta with
green grasses during the wet season.

10 MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES

In the south, the Futa Djallon Highlands and the Manding Mountains
provide a barrier that separates Mali from Guinea. These mountains are
relatively low, with deep valleys
formed by the rivers and their tributaries. The eastern region contains
two spectacular mountain ranges: the Bandiagara Plateau and the Hombori
Mountains, the highest points of which are the holy mountain called the
Hand of Fatima, and Mount Hombori Tondo. Mount Hombori Tondo is the
highest point in Mali, with an elevation of 1,155 meters (3,789 feet).

11 CANYONS AND CAVES

In the south-central area, dramatic sandstone cliffs (600 meters/2,000
feet high) in the area of Bandiagara run from southwest to northeast.
The Dogon people have built villages into the sheer faces of escarpments
in the steep sandstone cliffs of southern Mali. These pyramidal or
rectangular structures are built of mud, with wood supports protruding
at regular intervals. The Dogon sleep on the flat roofs of their
dwellings and bury their dead in caves dug into the escarpment.

12 PLATEAUS AND MONOLITHS

Other than the Bandiagara Plateau there are two plateau regions in Mali.
The Adrar des Iforas is an eroded massif (sandstone plateau) that rises
to 800 meters (2,640 feet) in northeastern Mali near the Niger and
Algeria borders. It is part of the Hoggar Mountain System that extends
into Algeria. In the opposite corner of the country, the Mandingue
Plateau runs along the border with Senegal, turning south and extending
into Guinea.

13 MAN-MADE FEATURES

A canal connecting the Niger River with Lake Faguibine, which had become
blocked with silt from droughts in the 1970s and 1980s, was dredged and
reopened in the mid-1990s. With help from the International Red Cross,
5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of the surrounding land—double the
previous area—was reclaimed from river flooding. The canal now
provides the irrigation water that is vital to support agriculture in
central Mali.

DID YOU KNOW?

Tomboucou (Timbuktu) has been a center of Islamic learning since the
seventeenth century. The city's Sankore Mosque, of golden clay
with its protruding wooden support structure, is a well-known landmark
and center for Islamic study in Africa.

14 FURTHER READING

Books

Bingen, R. James, David Robinson, and John Meters Staatz, eds.
Democracy and Development in Mali.
East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2000.